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Feb 18, 2018 at 6:00 AMFeb 19, 2018 at 7:52 AM

HIGHLAND CITY — It all started on the front porch of a Bartow home.

What was once two young brothers using friends and relatives as live mannequins and learning on the go has since turned into a thriving barber and hairstyling shop. In addition, Christian and Rafael Rivas have expanded from cutting hair to the realm of hip street fashion, turning a few hats and shirts into nearly $40,000 in online sales in 2017.

Called The Barber Cartel, the Rivas brothers’ clothing and accessory brand focuses on fashionable street wear with individualized barber wear.

During a recent workday, the shop was bustling with four of its hairstylists busy at work.

Christian, 26, a 2010 graduate of Bartow High School, said in 2017, he and his brother had $35,800 in online sales via their website www.mkt.com/barbercartel — a 200 percent increase over the $8,000 to $9,000 they made in 2016.

Some of the hoodies, T-shirts, hats and headwear, slippers and accessories they sell sport images of an angel with a machine gun, an image of a stone god head sporting a fade haircut, drug lord Pablo Escobar's mugshot and a face-masked Cartel “goon.”

Although the imagery is tough, Christian said, it has given the barber industry its own fashionable street wear by following urban fashion. He said he and Rafael work as a team to create, design and promote The Barber Cartel.

“We wanted to provide the barber industry with something they didn’t have before,” said Christian, who lives in Highland City. “When you go to the barber, you think about chairs and a barber pole. We wanted to give the barbering industry something more; its own fashionable streetwear.”

Rafael, 28, a 2008 Bartow High School graduate, said he first started cutting friends' hair in his Bartow neighborhood when he was 13 years old. He said he also had an affinity for graffiti, a natural talent for creating graffiti art and friends would ask for special designs in their hairstyles.

At 17, Christian began barber school in north Lakeland and said he graduated with his certificate at 18.

“I started working part-time. I told myself I wanted to own my own barbershop. By 20, I opened my own shop in Bartow off U.S. 98. It was literally a four-man shop,” he said.

A year later, Rafael opened a shop in a Highland City storage facility and by 2014, he and his brother began entering barbering competitions across the United States. In summer 2017, they opened the 2,600-square-foot Ralf’s Hair Studio in Joseph Town Center and now have 15 barbers and hairstylists working there.

Over the past three years, they've taken first place in “4 a.m. fade” and “Old-School” haircuts at the 2015 BlurryFades Expo, Miami; second place, “Fastest Fade” at the 2015 Xotics Hair Battle, Los Angeles; and most recently, second place in fade and beard at the 2018 BlurryFades Expo, Miami.

Their first win was in 2014 at the Xotics Hair Battle in Tampa, when they won best "low fade and beard."

“We went crazy when we won. We weren’t expecting it. It was big; it was motivating,” said Christian. “We enter and travel a lot for those; it’s what we love doing.”

In total, the Rivas brothers have accumulated 26 first- through third-place trophies in four years.

The result of their success behind the barber chair led the Rivases to their next venture — starting a line of fashionwear. Christian said the pair wanted to be able to capture the attitude of their hairstylings and came up with the name “Cartel,” eventually incorporating “Barber” into it. Christian came up with the first graphic ideas and the result was their first 50 logo T-shirts, using Lakeland’s Superior Screen Printing Services for printing.

From that first order, the Rivases are now selling more than 100 T-shirts per week nationwide and their Instagram account has almost 30,000 followers worldwide, they said.

“Those sold out quickly then it started snowballing,” Rafael said. “We work hand in hand. He’s the talent. I create the dope images behind what is worn.”

After starting The Barber Cartel with just T-shirts, the brothers began adding accessories such as hats and Yeti tumbler cups. The idea, they said, is to follow urban fashion and incorporate those images into barbershop attire. There are also sandals, backpacks, gold chains with pendants and other items.

“I’d look around for barber shirts to wear at work that speak about my job, my craft, the hairstyles. We didn’t see anything like that on the market so we came up with Barber Cartel. Next thing, people are coming in, talking about the logo. It’s crazy how it has been catching fire,” said Rafael, who lives with his wife, Ashley and daughters Isabella, 8 and Arianna, 2.

The brothers say they've filled orders from Germany, Trinidad and Tobago as well as locally.

Robert Gozzola with Superior Screen Printing Services said he had to warm up to the images.

“They keep us busy for sure. At first, I thought (the Barber Cartel brand) was kind of wild but the more I see the products out there, it seems like a good idea,” he said.

One of The Barber Cartel’s steady customers has been Kevin “Kevo” Corado, 28, a Tampa barber. He said the Rivas brothers stay on top of fashion trends and work hard to come up with current styles.

Corado said he has bought The Barber Cartel shirts, hats, sweaters and facial cleanser and likes spending money with folks working in his industry.

“Who doesn’t want to be fashionable, especially in a barbershop? Customers come in, see the fashions and know they can get a stylish haircut,” he said.

Another regular customer is Joe Halman Jr., deputy county manager for public safety, who calls the brothers talented and their products phenomenal.

“They are professional and very talented, as well as attentive,” he said. “It’s a family-friendly atmosphere there and they’re able to cater to whoever walks in their door.”

In addition to their local queue of barbershop customers, the brothers have been chosen to cut the hair of Major League Baseball's Pittsburgh Pirates during spring training in Bradenton.

Andrew McCutchen, who previously played for the Pirates and is now with the San Francisco Giants, said after a reference from his sister, found the Rivases and had his hair cut. Speaking from Scottsdale, Arizona, the Fort Meade native said he got his haircut and "I was locked after that." He hooked the brothers up with the Pirates who train in Bradenton and they're now the "official" barbers for the team during spring training, cutting the hair of players such as Josh Harrison, Gregory Polanco and Starling Marte.

"Everyone wants a haircut from them; it's like a domino effect," said McCutchen. "The guys love their work and what they've done."

The Rivases said McCutcheon contacted them about cutting the Pirates’ hair after seeing their followers on Instagram.

Rafael added The Barber Cartel name is becoming more permanently etched in the consumer mind. He said there have been 12 people who have tattooed the brand logo on themselves.

In addition, the brothers have already expanded, recently extending their barbershop and adding a salon next door.

The Rivas brothers said they’re amazed at how their businesses has grown from friends and family on their parents’ porch into a successful Polk County barbershop and a steadily growing online clothing retailer.

“It’s a rollercoaster handing sales. Some days are great, some not so great,” said Christian. “But I love it; it’s my oxygen. Being from a family of immigrants, I love the climb. There’s not really a money amount we’re chasing; we’re chasing the hustle, the growth, the success.”

Paul Catala can be reached at paul.catala@theledger.com or 863-802-7533. He can be reached at Twitter @pcat0226.

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